Jay Boller of City Pages:
1 "Song Exploder." This podcast lets musicians dissect one of their songs — from inspiration to execution to recording. A recent episode highlighted folk-rock Big Thief's "Cattails," a mesmerizingly beautiful ode to singer Adrianne Lenker's Minnesota grandma.
2 Purple Mountains, "Purple Mountains." "You see, the life I live is sickenin'/I spent a decade playin' chicken with oblivion." So begins David Berman on his debut as Purple Mountains, a dynamic new platform for the former Silver Jews leader's bleak-yet-hilarious lyricism and cowboy shuffling.
3 Pizza Lucé Block Party. Night Moves, the twangy and trippy Twin Cities breakout stars, will precede Har Mar Superstar on Aug. 10.
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Jon Bream of the Star Tribune:
1 Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" video reaches 1 billion views on YouTube. It's the first pre-1990 video to achieve that mark. Thank "Wayne's World" and the 2018 Rami Malek biopic for reinvigorating interest in this pre-MTV 1975 video clip.
2 Lyle Lovett, "12th of June." Harmonizing with fiddler Luke Bulla and mandolinist Keith Sewell at the same microphone at the State Theatre, the Texas guitarist offered this new bluegrassy-folk love song about the day twin children were born. Expect it on his new album in 2020.
